A to Z
by FosterStinson
Summary: Two years after Auld Acquaintance, much has changed with the Team. Troia, Aquagirl, and Tempest have all joined the team, but that is not the biggest change for Artemis's life. She has realized that she is in love with Zatanna and a series of unfortunate events may lead to Zatanna realizing the same...
1. Thanksgiving

Artemis had known she was in love with Zatanna for a while. She and Wally had been broken up for over a year. Since then, Wally has dated various girls including Linda Park and Beatrice da Costa, all of which went to his school and no connection to the Team. It was a mutual break-up, both of them agreed that it just couldn't work, but Artemis felt like she was easily replaceable when Wally started going through girls like he went through bologna sandwiches.

But she got over it when she realized how she felt about Zatanna. She hadn't said a word about it to anyone, because she was pretty sure Zatanna was straight, and she was still her best friend so she didn't want to ruin that. Although, she was pretty sure Robin knew, given that he was able to find out who her family really was. But he hadn't said anything about it, so she decided not to bring it up.

Artemis smiled as she watched Zatanna doing magic in the kitchen, helping M'Gann and Donna prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Tula stood in the kitchen watching them cook, bewildered as to why they would cook other living beings.

A lot had changed since that New Year's Eve they fought the Justice League. It was now late November, 2013. Aqualad and Robin were practically co-team leaders. Robin had matured a lot in those years. Superboy was finally accepted by Superman. But most notably, the team's roster had expanded. There was Troia, their most recent recruit, who was Wonder Woman's younger sister. Then there was Tempest and Aquagirl, Kaldur's friends from Atlantis, Garth and Tula. Artemis felt bad for Kaldur, having to watch them be together every day. She shared his pain, due to the fact that Zatanna and Robin flirt every chance they get.

Superboy was spending Thanksgiving with Superman, Wally was spending it with his family, and Kaldur and Garth were both returning to Atlantis for a celebration with Aquaman, but Tula stayed behind. Robin had somehow convinced Batman to let him stay at the cave for Thanksgiving. Artemis and Robin were the only ones on the couch watching TV as the girls prepared dinner. They were watching some anime knock-off of Batman that Robin said was hilariously awful because they portrayed Batman as a bat-monster who transformed into a police officer during the day and fought crime. Artemis did think it was awful, but what she found hilarious was Robin's reaction to how he was portrayed in the show. He was portrayed as a child who can transform into a bird and helps the Batman during police investigations.

"What the hell?! I've never been in the show before! Why am I in the show now?! Why am I a freaking canary boy?!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure the canary's a girl." Said Artemis, just trying to irritate him.

He groaned angrily as he threw the remote at the TV. When it hit the TV the channel changed to the news with G. Gordon Godfrey. He was known famously for his hatred of the Justice League, which angered the Team, especially Artemis and Robin because he always targets Batman and Green Arrow for not even having powers.

"How is this guy still even on TV?" asked an angry Artemis.

"nruT ffO noisiveleT!" exclaimed Zatanna from the kitchen, turning off the TV. "Don't watch that crap, all it's good for is riling you up." Said Zatanna, giving Artemis a smirk when she says this. Artemis can't help but grin back, but before she could say anything, Robin hopped over the couch and walked over to the kitchen, asking when dinner was going to be ready.

According to Megan, they'd be "Done in a Jiffy", so, naturally, it'd be at least another half hour. Unfortunately for Robin, in that time, he was contacted by Batman, who needed Robin for a "dire emergency".

"Yay! Looks like it's just us girls for Thanksgiving!" shouts M'Gann after Robin left. Zatanna chuckles and grins as she takes the turkey out of the oven. Not much else interesting happened that Thanksgiving. The girls talked and enjoyed their food. Robin returned from his mission just after they had finished eating.

Within a few days everyone had returned and things were as normal as they could be. The Team would be sent on missions, something would go wrong, they'd fix it, and Batman would berate them then turn it into praise from the League. For a while, everything was as normal as it could have been. And it was super boring.

When December came along, things started getting interesting for Artemis. One morning, she was woken up by the doorbell, and knowing that her mom wouldn't get it, she slumped herself out of bed, licked her hand and flatted some of her hair even though it did nothing, and went to open the door. She was surprised to see Zatanna standing in front of her.


	2. Let's Go to the Mall

"Hi Artemis!"

"Zatanna? What are you doing here it's 6 AM it's like the middle of the night!"

"I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd drop by." Says Zatanna, walking into the apartment, giving a smile and a shoulder nod to Artemis.

"You couldn't wait for it to be like 12?" asks Artemis, running her fingers through her long and messy hair.

"I probably could have but I chose not to." Zatanna sat down at the table in Artemis's dining room and crossed her legs, glancing around the apartment.

Artemis groaned. "Well, you make yourself at home, since I'm awake now I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Think of me." Said Zatanna, winking. Artemis chuckled as she went to the shower. She knew Zatanna was just joking around, but she didn't mind. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Her sense of humor was just a small part of what Artemis loved about her. After she finished showering she put her hair in the usual ponytail and threw on some clothes before going back out and joined Zatanna at the table.

"So what were you doing in Gotham at 6 AM?"

"Robin asked for my help on a case he's been working on, but it was a dead end. When I was done it was already morning so I thought I may as well drop by."

"What was the case you were working on?"

"Something about Killer Croc working with Intergang to smuggle Apokaliptian tech into Gotham using the sewers, but Batman took out Croc just a few days ago and we couldn't find any traces of Intergang in Gotham so that was the end of that."

"That sounds like a pretty serious case, do you guys really think it's such a good idea to just drop it like that?"

"Don't worry, Robin said if anything else pops up he and Batman would be right on top of it."

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that.

"Okay, there was another reason I came here."

"Yeah…?"

"Do you remember when Robin and I kissed on New Year's in 2011?"

_Unfortunately._ Thought Artemis. "How could I forget?"

"Well, we kissed again."

_Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckety fuck fuck._ "Oh, really?" said Artemis, pretending to be interested. "What, what happened?"

"Well, after we kissed it was really awkward for like a minute, and then I said I should probably go and when I left I came here."

"So you're not dating?"

"Nope. But I don't know, the kiss it felt right, but it felt so… _wrong_."

"You lost me there."

"I don't know, it had been a while since I'd been kissed but I felt like, maybe it should have been with someone else."

"Who?"

"That's the problem, I have _no_ idea. Okay, enough about me, what's going on with you?" asked Zatanna, clearly not wanting to dwell on the topic for too much longer.

"Not much, really not anything. I've been dying for a mission, just something to do, you know?"

Zatanna nodded in understanding, and after that they were both silent for a few seconds before Zatanna spoke up. "You and I should hang out today! We never hang out anymore!"

"Aren't we hanging out right now?"

"I mean somewhere like the mall or the beach!"

Artemis was amazed at how Zatanna could be so perky and full of life this early in the morning.

"The mall? That is probably the last place I would ever want to be."

"Great." Said Zatanna, standing up. "Then that's where we're going!"

Zatanna grabbed on to Artemis's arm and yanked her out of her chair. "Wait, what? No!" Artemis tried to complain and protest, but it was useless. Soon the two of them were at the Gotham mall where Zatanna was having a great time and Artemis was just happy to be spending time with her.

"Well, I'm bored let's go to the Cave!" said Artemis, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"No! Everyone on the Team spends _way_ too much time at the Cave! It's especially annoying since I live there! We are spending time together at the mall, just the two of us, no one else, and no interruptions."

Explosion.

The floor just behind Zatanna was blown out of place by unknown attackers, knocking Zatanna into Artemis, sending both of them flying to the ground. Zatanna landed with her hand on one of Artemis's breasts so she jokingly said "At least buy me dinner first."

Zatanna looked at her and chuckled. She then looked at the dust, which was clearing to reveal Tommy and Tuppence Terror.

"I had to open my big mouth."

"Why don't you put your big mouth to use and start doing some magic!"

"Right, right. _tuP sU nI ruO semutsoC!_" shouted Zatanna, surrounding the two of them in smoke, and when it faded they were in full costume, Artemis armed with her bow and arrows.

"Oh dang nabit, Tuppence, why is it every time we hit a mall some of the super babies is always here?!"

"I don't know, Tommy, but I think it's time we finely crushed 'em!"

"Wow, I feel like just listening to them talk made me lose a few IQ points." Said Artemis, chalantly aiming an arrow and firing it at Tommy. He caught it, and it exploded, sending him flying backwards. Tuppence then launched herself towards Artemis but Zatanna shouted "_ecneppuT oG gniylF otnI ymmoT!"_ Sending Tuppence flying backwards into Tommy, who was just getting up.

Artemis then fired an arrow at the two of them which expanded into a net, capturing both of them.

"_ecrofnieR teN."_

"See, wasn't that more fun than just hanging out at the mall?"

Zatanna glared at Artemis before chuckling. She lightly punched Artemis in the arm, and Artemis then did the same to Zatanna, but a little harder just to irritate her.

"Ow!" said Zatanna, before laughing and putting her arm around Artemis.

"Fine, fine, yes that was probably the funnest part of today."

"So now can we go back to the Cave?"


	3. Ever So Briefly

**Recognized Artemis B07, Zatanna B08**

Artemis and Zatanna zeta'd into the Cave to find it almost empty. The TV was turned on showing a news report about some baby seal that was rescued from a shark attack, which was most likely being watched by Tula. Speaking of Tula, she was in the kitchen with Ms. Martian, who was still trying to teach her to cook.

"Hi Artemis! Hi Zatanna!' said Megan.

"Hey M'Gann. Where's everybody else?" responded Zatanna.

"Well Conner's visiting Kansas with Superman, Aqualad and Tempest are in Atlantis on a mission with Aquaman, Donna went on a mission with Wonder Woman, and I haven't heard from Wally or Robin. Where are you guys coming from?"

"We just took out the Terror Twins at the mall." Says Artemis.

"The mall?" asked Tula. She was still relatively new to the surface world.

"It's where people go to buy things like clothes." Explained Zatanna, but Tula just wasn't getting it. She was great with sorcery and finding information, not so much with anything else. Artemis's attention slowly disappeared as she stared at Zatanna's beauty. She went unnoticed for a few minutes before M'Gann asked "Artemis, what are you staring at?"

She didn't notice her talking at first, until Zatanna looked at her as well, snapping her out of her trance. "Oh, uh, nothing. I was just spacing out."

From then on the four of them just talked for about twenty minutes before the zeta tubes were activated and Black Canary and Green Arrow walked in, chatting and laughing, presumably having just returned from a date. Canary noticed the girls and said "Oh, hey girls, I'm glad you're all here. I've been wanting to try a new exercise with-" but she was interrupted by Batman's voice over the Cave's intercom.

"All Team members report to the briefing room immediately."

Black Canary sighed and said "Maybe next time. You girls had better get going, this is probably important."

So M'Gann, Artemis, Zatanna, and Tula all went to the briefing room where they were met with Batman's face on the screen as he flew in the Batwing.

"This mission is of absolute importance. M'Gann and Artemis have already visited this destination, so they know how tricky it can be."

"What destination are you talking about Batman?"

"The Tower of Fate."

Artemis looked over at Zatanna, who looked at the ground with one arm across her chest holding on to her other arm. She looked sad, and Artemis felt bad for her.

"Doctor Fate was last seen entering the Tower two weeks ago. He has not been heard from since. Robin and Kid Flash are already on the scene awaiting further instruction. The key to the Tower is with the two of them and they are waiting for the four of you to arrive, so get moving. Find Doctor Fate and expect the worst. You cannot fail." And with that, Batman disconnected.

All three, Artemis, M'Gann, and Tula, looked over at Zatanna with concern on their faces. Zatanna was the first one to speak. "Let's get going."

The four of them boarded the Bio-Ship and flew out of the Cave, rendezvousing with Robin and Kid Flash where the Tower of Fate should be.

"Took you long enough, we've been waiting here forever." Said Wally.

"We've been here for six minutes." Said an annoyed Robin.

"Which is forever in Flash time!"

"Would you just shut up and put the key in the hole?" said Artemis.

Wally did as he was told, and the Tower of Fate appeared before the six of them. Most all of them gulped, and Robin said "Well, let's get to work." As he ventured inside, followed by his teammates.


	4. The Tower of Lost Faith

The six of them stepped inside the Tower, but unlike what happened a few years ago, they were not met with a projection of Kent Nelson. Kent Nelson was dead. They weren't met with a projection of Zatara either, it seemed like that little gimmick was exclusive to Kent.

"Alright, we know how tricky this place can be, and we wouldn't cover enough ground in time if we stick together. We'll split into two teams and head in different directions. KF, take M'Gann and Tula, I'll go with Zee and Artemis." Said Robin, grinning at Zatanna, making her shift a little uneasily.

Wally, M'Gann, and Tula nodded and walked in one direction, leaving the other one open for Robin, Zatanna, and Artemis. This was going to be an uncomfortable mission for all three of them.

After about five minutes of traveling aimlessly through the tower, Artemis said "Okay, look. Zatanna told me you two kissed, so stop acting so awkward just because I'm here and talk it out already. I'll take point." She shuffled past the two of them, taking charge of the search, leaving them a few feet behind her.

She really didn't want to do that, but the awkward silence was killing her, and she was just hoping that they'd come to the conclusion that they actually didn't want to be together.

"Um, well-" started Robin, but he was interrupted by a scream of pain that sounded all too much like Doctor Fate. "Uh, later. Let's go!" he shouted as he ran past Artemis. Artemis and Zatanna ran after him and Zatanna caught up with Artemis.

"Thanks for that, Dr. Phil, that wasn't the most awkward thing ever or anything." Said an annoyed Zatanna.

Artemis decided just to grin rather than say anything, and soon enough, they had reached a dead end, but they could still hear the screaming from the other side. There was a door but none of them could open it, so they were left with nothing to do but bang and pound on the wall shouting at it.

"Okay, stand back." said Zatanna, and the two of them cleared a path for her.

"nepO eht rooD!" shouted Zatanna, blasting lightning at the door, but they only blasted back onto her.

"Zatanna!" shouted Artemis and Robin in unison as both of them ran over to her. As they were making sure she was okay, the door creaked open.

"I think it worked." Said an injured Zatanna, earning a chuckle from both of her companions.

"You go ahead, I'll help her up." Said Artemis. Robin nodded and headed to the door. He opened it further, but shouted as he saw that it was a long drop into a pit of fire, and he was having trouble maintaining his balance.

"Robin?!" shouted Artemis, but it was too late. A gust of wind had knocked him in, causing Artemis to run up to the door to see what she could do. But she could only hear Robin screaming as he fell.

"Nooo!" shouted Artemis just before he collided with the fire. However, that never happened. The fire opened a large circle in the center and closed right after Robin had fallen through it. The door then closed, knocking Artemis backward. It then opened once again, revealing a much different room, with Dr. Fate's iconic symbol floating in the middle of the room. Artemis quickly ran back and helped Zatanna up, who was still in shock, and she walked her into the new room. The door closed after them immediately after they entered the room and it disappeared.

"Robin…" said Zatanna.

"Hey, Zee, it's okay, he'll be fine! He's not dead! We'll get him back, but right now we just need to focus on finding Dr. Fate, okay?" urged Artemis.

It took Zatanna a little bit to register the words she was saying, but she nodded. Before they could think of something else to do, they heard another scream come from within the symbol.

"It must be a portal." Said Zatanna as she walked closer to it.

"Be careful, Zee."

But Zatanna ignored her warnings. She placed her hand on the portal and it felt warm, almost welcoming. It spoke her name and welcomed her inside. Zatanna then jumped inside of the portal, which led Artemis to believe she could do the same, but it closed before Artemis could even get close enough to touch it.

"Zatanna?!" shouted Artemis, unsure of what to do next.

Elsewhere, Zatanna exited the portal and entered into a circular room where she saw something she'd never seen before torturing, not Dr. Fate, but Zatara.


	5. Daddy Dearest

"Zatanna… Zatanna, wake up." Muttered Kid Flash, shaking her awake. Slowly, her vision came into focus, and she saw that she was lying on grass where the Tower of Fate used to be. Kid Flash was kneeling next to her, making sure she was okay, and she looked over to see Robin and Artemis talking.

"I thought that…" she said, still dazed.

"Ssshh, don't strain yourself. We're gonna get you on the bio-ship and back to the Cave, okay?"

She simply nodded and allowed Wally to pick her up and walk her back on. He laid her down on a bed and walked out to see expectant faces on Artemis, Robin, and Zatara.

"She'll be fine. Better than fine when she sees you, probably." He said, addressing Zatara.

He looked away, unsure of what to say. However, everyone else in the ship was looking at him expectantly.

"So, are you going to tell us what happened or what?" asked Artemis with her arms crossed and a skeptical look on her face.

"I was abducted by the demon called Trigon. Zatanna saved my life, but it is likely she will have no recollection of doing so, and no recollection of seeing me. I plan on keeping it that way." He said, grabbing the Helmet of Fate out of the chair. When Wally saw it, it sent shivers down his spine.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Zatara?! She's been beating herself up for _three years_ because she couldn't save you! And now, you're just gonna disappear without even letting her say one last goodbye?" Artemis was enraged. She knew how much this was going to hurt Zatanna, and she wouldn't stand for it.

"Yes." He said sternly, looking her in the eyes. "And I trust that all of you will not tell her, because we all know how much it will hurt her. It is best if she remembers nothing."

"I'm not going to do that." Said Artemis. "She deserves to know." She turned and began walking towards the room she was in, but Zatara said "potS." Freezing her in her tracks.

"rebmemeR gnihtoN." He said, wiping her memory of this confrontation, causing her to fall unconscious, but Robin caught her, looking at Zatara in disgust. Reluctantly, he put the helmet back on and disappeared. After Robin laid Artemis down next to Zatanna, he came back out and sat down, turning to face Wally, M'Gann, and Tula.

"We can't tell them." He said.

"Why not?" demanded Wally.

"Because it would kill Zatanna. And if Artemis found out what Zatara did to her, there's no telling what she would do. I don't like this anymore than you guys but we need to start thinking like superheroes, and not friends. It's for the best."

No one would look him in the eyes. They all knew he was right, despite how much it killed them.

Unbeknownst to anyone, within the Helmet of Fate, Zatara's screams could barely be heard over Trigon's endless laughing of triumph.


	6. Not Really a Break Up

It had been a week and a half since the mission at the Tower. Robin, Wally, Tula, and M'Gann haven't mentioned it to anyone, and Zatanna has decided not to dwell on the fact that she can't remember the mission, believing that it would only make her sad. She was lying on her bad, smiling at a picture of her and Zatara, which she had enchanted to move like the pictures from Harry Potter. She stuffed it under her pillow when she heard knocking on the door.

"Come in."

She was disappointed when she saw Robin open the door.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Do you mind if I sit?" he asked, pointing towards the bed. She sat up and smiled.

"We haven't talked about what happened in Gotham."

She looked away. "What is there to talk about?"

"Well clearly you don't want to be together, or else you would have said something about it. Correct me if I'm wrong here."

She looked him in the eye. "Robin, I'm sorry, but I can't do this. That kiss, it just didn't feel right. I felt like I wasn't even myself, and I can't explain how wrong it made me feel. I've never felt that way about a kiss before, but this one…"

"Wow, it was that bad?" Zatanna chuckled. If there was one thing she admired about Robin, it was how he could make fun out of any situation. She looked at him and grinned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. It's all good." He said, touching her shoulder, giving her a meaningful look. He then got up and walked towards the door, but he stopped when he reached it and took a step back.

"Can I just ask one thing?"

"Yeah, go for it."

"Is it because of Artemis?" he didn't know for sure, but he was fairly certain Artemis was in love with Zatanna. He didn't really blame her.

The question took Zatanna by surprise, because instead of answering she just blushed and started stuttering meaningless words. "What? How would you, I mean, what the what? I'm not, she's not, no, what? No. No. It is not because of, no. Not Artemis. What? No." She was still very flustered as she looked at him and shrugged, smiling.

"Uh huh." He said, completely unconvinced. "Just wondering." He chuckled as he walked out.

Zatanna was confused as to why Robin would even think that, Artemis wasn't a lesbian, _she_ wasn't a lesbian! But girls can like girls when they're not lesbians… can't they? But was Zatanna one of those girls? She had never thought of Artemis that way before, but now that the idea was in her mind, all she could picture was her and Artemis doing couple stuff. She thought she was imagining it ironically, but she still wasn't very sure.


	7. Sisterly Advice

"Hey Donna?" asked Zatanna.

"Yeah, Zee?" she said looking up from her book. The two of them were the only ones sitting at the counter. Wally, Aqualad, Superboy, and Artemis were all sitting on the couch watching TV. She glanced over at Artemis and pursed her lip. She looked back at Donna.

"On Themyscira, there's no men, right?"

"Correct. Amazons don't like men all that much. Although Diana and I are more open minded, but our mother, Hippolyta, has sworn them off completely. Although, several male members of the Justice League have been on Themyscira, although that doesn't necessarily mean they were _allowed_ to be there, because our mother wasn't very happy, she even banished Diana for a few years, but she's been forgiven and-" she stopped when she looked at Zatanna's face to see she was completely lost. "I'm sorry I started rambling again, didn't I?"

"Little bit."

"Sorry. Anyways, why do you ask?"

"Well, since there aren't any men, do the Amazon women like… get together?"

"Oh, yeah! On Themyscira women being with women is incredibly common. A small portion of the island don't find themselves attracted to women, such as Diana and myself, which always kind of disappointed our mother, because she always wanted both of us to find a nice woman to settle down with and potentially rule with, but I have to say ever since coming to 'man's world' as Diana calls it, I have found myself on fire in the downtown, if you know what I mean, but I had always thought that…" Zatanna chuckled and just let Donna continue rambling.

Later on, Artemis was in her room at her mother's apartment listening to music trying to write a report on Judge Solomon Wayne, because she was partnered with Lonnie Machin, quite possibly the most careless student at Gotham Academy. She had really been hoping to be paired with Barbara Gordon, since she has straight A's in every single one of her honor's classes.

"_I'll keep you my dirty little secret, dirty little secret, hope that you can keep it-"_

"Oh you've got a dirty little secret alright." Said an all too familiar voice, freaking Artemis out enough to rip her headphones out and somersault off of the bed into a fighting stance, only to see Jade sitting on the windowsill with Artemis's diary in her hand. Artemis's eyes widened and her voice cracked when she asked "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know that you have a really bad singing voice. Also that you're gay."

_Shit._ Thought Artemis.

"What are you talking about?"

Jade then cleared her throat and read from the diary in her best impression of Artemis's voice. _"Could Zatanna be more hot? Is it bad that I constantly fantasize about pushing her up against a wall and stripping her down?"_ She grinned and looked over at Artemis. "Do I need to go on you dirty little bird?"

"I knew getting a diary was too cliché…" Artemis muttered to herself, getting off the floor. She sighed. "Fine, I'm gay, why the hell do you care?"

"Gee, maybe because you're my sister."

"Since when has that mattered to you?"

"Since always, but we're not getting in to this right now."

"We're not getting into anything, because you're getting out. Now."

"Oh, you're so cute. Look, I'm gonna give you a little sisterly advice, if you really like that Annataz girl-"

"Zatanna."

"Whatever, it's still a stupid name, if you really like her, then grow a pair and tell her."

"It's not that easy."

"Why the hell not? You're Artemis Crock, since when are you afraid of anything?"

Artemis gulped and look away, rubbing her arm.

"That's what I thought." She said, climbing out of the window. "Oh, one last word of sisterly advice, I'd keep an eye on the sewer system if I were you. Buh bye." And with that, she was gone.

Artemis then fell to her knees and let out an enormously loud groan.


	8. All It Took Was One Little Invasion

"Someone cover my six! I'm going in!" shouted Superboy.

"I've got you, Connor!" said Artemis, running up to him and turning her back, loading an arrow and shooting an arrow at one of the white Martians. Since her arrows had all been reinforced with titanium, it killed him. She turned her head briefly to watch Superboy rip a large hole in the giant nest before going in. She then shot another Martian in the head before it could follow him in.

"This is getting insane! They seem endless!" complained Zatanna as she ripped her arm away from one of their grasps and zapped it with a spark of magic, knocking it back into a wall.

"We just need to hold out for a little longer! If anyone's going to get M'Gann back it's Connor!' said Artemis, turning around to face a group of about twenty Martians. She sighed and shot two arrows, but in the next two seconds all of them were in a pile, unconscious, with Kid Flash clapping dust off of his hands.

"Thanks."

"No problem." He touched his ear piece. "Robin, how are you holding up?"

Elsewhere, Robin took one hand off the steering wheel to turn on his ear piece. He looked back at all the people in the bus and then back at the road. "I almost have the last bus out of the city limits, but I've got three Martians on my tail! They're getting closer!"

"I'm on my way!" shouted Wally, disappearing.

Zatanna then levitated down to meet Artemis on the streets.

"How did this many White Martians manage to escape from suspended animation?" she complained.

"Hey, we should just consider ourselves lucky we got Central City. The League is all the way on Mars taking care of the rest."

"Well you're not wrong ther- ah!" she shouted as she was shot in the back with a stun gun by a single White Martian. Artemis did not hesitate to shoot an arrow into its head before turning Zatanna over and pressing their lips together, pushing on her chest. She wasn't letting up, she couldn't.

Eventually, Zatanna let out a large breath, and Artemis hovered over her face very close, their lips still within very close proximity. And then before either of them knew what was happening, they were touching again, but this time for a different reason. The kiss didn't last very long as Superboy came running out of the nice holding a barely conscious Ms. Martian, which made them immediately separate.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing I was giving her CPR." Said Artemis incredibly quickly. Zatanna then pretended to take a large breath.

"Whatever, we don't have a lot of time." He said.

"What, why?"

Instead of explaining, he ran over and grabbed both of them, jumping off of the ground as the nest exploded. He landed about twenty feet ahead of the bus that the last White Martian was now in control of. While he was driving it towards Superboy very quickly, Zatanna grabbed M'Gann and jumped out of the way, while Artemis went the other way. Kid Flash managed to get the last civilian off the bus, but Superboy stood firmly and punched it in the front, crushing the entire front half, sending the Martian flying out the windshield, but he grabbed its ankle and slammed it back into the bus, knocking it unconscious.

"Welcome to Earth."

Wally then sped up next to him and said "Dude, you are such a badass."

"I know." He chuckled and the two of them fist bumped.

Meanwhile, Artemis and Zatanna, both still breathing heavily, looked at each other, but both looked away very quickly.


	9. Leap of Faith

_I kissed Zatanna four days ago. I kissed Zatanna and I haven't said two words to her since._ Was all Artemis could think to herself as she was sitting in the cave watching TV with Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and that's right, Zatanna herself.

"I'm gonna go make a dozen bologna sandwiches." Said Wally casually as he got up and walked to the kitchen. This didn't really take anyone by surprise. Artemis saw this as a potential opportunity and said "I might be going insane but that actually sounds pretty good right now." So she got up and walked to the kitchen as well. Once in the kitchen, she said, very quietly, "Hey Wally? Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, what's up?" he said.

She walked as far away from the living room as possible and motioned for him to come over. "Okay look, I know this might seem a little insane since we broke up, but I still feel like we're really good friends, and I could probably trust Megan with this, but she's not here and it's killing me not talking about it, so you're kinda the next best thing-"

"You're talking really fast, did you get super speed when I wasn't looking?"

She playfully glared at him. "No, stupid this is serious."

"Okay, then tell me."

She looked over at Zatanna and then back at Wally.

"I kissed Zatanna."

"That's hot. How drunk were you?"

She slapped the back of his head.

"I wasn't drunk! It was in Central City, she got shot by a Martian so I gave her CPR and then we started kissing."

This took him by surprise.

"Oh."

Artemis bit her lower lip and crossed her arms.

"Well… do you like her?"

She looked away and nodded.

"Okay, she kissed you back, right?"

"Yeah."

"And that was four days ago, so why haven't you talked to her about it?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Since when are you scared of anything?" he asked, challenging her.

"People keep asking me that, but I'm afraid of losing her."

"Look, Artemis, I just found out this was happening twenty seconds ago, but that's practically given me a whole day to really think about it, and what you and Zatanna seem to have seems really special. If you just took a leap of faith, then you wouldn't lose her."

She looked at him skeptically. "I thought you were an atheist."

"It's an expression, moron. And I'm still right."

"Okay, fine, you're right. I'll talk to her."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have seven more bologna sandwiches to make."

She then quietly slipped past the living room and walked into Zatanna's room. She pulled out her phone and texted Zatanna.

**Come to ur room please… I need to talk to you.**

She responded instantly. _**Oh **_**now**_**you wanna talk?**_

**Zee, please..**

She didn't respond. Instead, twenty seconds later she opened the door and looked at Artemis, who was sitting on her bed.

"What?"

"I really like you."

"Is that why you haven't talked to me for four days?"

"Zee, I'm sorry, I just… I didn't want to confront you about it because it was horrified of losing you. I've felt this way about you for a long, _long_ time now, and the last thing I want to do is screw it up."

Zatanna loosened up and went to sit next to her.

"How long?"

"About two months after Wally and I broke up."

"Oh, wow. That's a long time."

"Yeah… I'm a really good liar."

"Yeah I got that." She responded, still in shock. "Well, look, I'm still incredibly confused about this. I don't know if I'm gay or bi or just gay for you or what, but I only started thinking this way after Robin put the idea in my mind, and ever since, I can't get it out!"

"Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know." She said, looking into Artemis's eyes and then down at her lips. "But I really want to find out."

"Maybe I can help out with that." Said Artemis, placing Zatanna's hair behind her ear and resting her palm on her cheek, leaning in and kissing her. Zatanna immediately returned the kiss and she felt amazing. As soon as they pulled apart, Zatanna said "Um, I think it's a good thing." Both of them laughed and smiled.

"So… what?" asked Artemis

"What do you mean?"

"Are we like, girlfriend girlfriend now?"

"Looks that way." Said Zatanna, holding her hand, smiling.

"Are we gonna do all that couple stuff like tandem bikes, long walks on the beach, milkshakes with two straws, making out in public-"

"Slow down there, bucko." Interrupted Zatanna. "I'm pretty certain you're joking, but just in case, I'm not really ready to just flaunt this around. I don't know when I will be, but I know that when I am I will always want you by my side."

"Okay. We can wait. To be honest I'm not sure if I'm ready yet either. Also, yes I was joking, who do you think I am?"

Zatanna laughed and she let her head fall into Artemis's chest.

"Wow, I thought we just agreed to take this slow." Joked Artemis.

"I don't think we ever said that." Said Zatanna, giving Artemis a seductive look.

"Come on." Said Artemis, getting up. "We should get back out there before Wally gets any ideas."

"What were you talking about with him earlier when you lied about getting a bologna sandwich?"

"Oh, this. He convinced me to talk to you."

"Huh. He's maybe the last person I would've expected you to go to."

"Yeah, I wanted to go to M'Gann, but desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Trust me, I know that's true." She said chuckling as both of them went back out to the living room, happier than ever.


	10. Slightly Less in the Closet

"Artemis? Artemis are you in there?" asked Paula Crock from the hallway outside Artemis's room. She and Zatanna immediately pulled apart and quickly tried to rearrange their clothes and hair.

"Yeah mom! Zatanna's here, we're… studying!"

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything!"

"Okay!"

After she had wheeled away, both of them started laughing.

"Don't you think we should at least tell your mom?" asked Zatanna.

"I thought we agreed we weren't ready to tell people yet."

"Well, yeah, but she's your mom. If Wally of all people knows, don't you think she deserves to?"

"I don't know…"

"Listen, if I still had parents that I could tell this to, I would."

Artemis looked at her with sympathy. "Damn you."

Zatanna smiled and placed a quick kiss on her lips before shooing her out of the room to go talk to Paula.

Artemis cleared her throat and her mother looked over at her.

"Um, hi mom."

Paula smiled. "Artemis, is something wrong?"

Artemis took a step back and began to turn around to go back to her room, but Zatanna ushered her back towards her mom.

"Okay, mom, look I have something to tell you and it's very important and I'm honestly not sure how you're going to react so I'm just going to come right out and say it." She said it all very quickly and Paula stared at her expectantly with kind eyes. "I'm gay."

Paula smiled. "I know, Artemis."

"What."

"I've known since you were a little girl."

"Even I haven't known that long…" she muttered to herself.

"Plus, I could hear you and your friend kissing in your room." She said grinning, returning to reading her book as Artemis gulped.

"Okay well now that that's over I'm gonna go die." She said, turning around to see Zatanna snickering.

"Oh, Artemis come here." Said Paula. She reluctantly did so and she knelt down by her mother.

"I don't care if you're gay or straight, all I care about is that you're happy. And if Zatanna makes you happy, then you have my support."

Artemis smiled as her eyes started to water. "Thanks mom." She hugged Paula before finally returning to Zatanna.

"Thank you for making me do that. I don't know why I was so nervous in the first place."

"You're welcome." Artemis then leaned over and kissed Zatanna softly, breaking it with a smile.

"This is gonna sound incredibly girly, but I never thought I could be this happy."

"Hey, I like girls." Defended Zatanna, making Artemis chuckle.

Their moment was interrupted by Zatanna's phone ringing.

"Oh, it's Robin."

Artemis looked at her skeptically. "Don't worry, he knows there's nothing between us. It's probably a mission."

She answered the phone and on the other line Robin said _"Zatanna, I don't have a lot of time to explain, but the case we dropped about Killer Croc and Intergang, it's not over and it's in full swing. I'm in the sewer system right now, and I need back-up."_

"Artemis and I will be there in a second." She hung up.

"What the hell was that?"

"We're about to get really dirty and really stinky."

"Oh, goody."

"tropsnarT sU oT s'niboR noitacoL!" she shouted. In the next second, the two of them were standing in the Gotham City sewers standing next to Robin.

"Oh, holy shit, that was fast. Get in your stealth tech." Zatanna cast a spell putting them in their suits as quietly as she could.

"Okay, what's going on?" asked Artemis.

"Basically if you see anyone that's not us kick the crap out of them but don't touch any of the cargo." He explained.

"Noted." She said.

"Alright, let's move out."

"Well this should be fun." Muttered Artemis as she loaded an arrow, jumping out and firing it.


	11. Aftermath

Artemis, Zatanna, and Robin took out most of Intergang, but Batman, who Artemis didn't even know was there, had been dealing with Killer Croc. After Artemis and Zatanna had tied up Intergang and carefully loaded the Apokaliptian tech into the Batmobile, they eavesdropped the argument between Batman and Robin.

"I am getting tired of your reckless attitude!"

"_Reckless attitude?!_ I'm just trying to be the person you turned me into, Bruce! I am _sick_ of you constantly ordering me around like I'm some expendable soldier! When you first adopted me, you told me that you were going to be my new father, and that I was going to be your son. And since then, not once have you told me you love me."

"You are getting incredibly off topic-"

"Of course you try to dance around this! I can't take it anymore! You want a Robin who will be obedient and do whatever you want, but that's not me so clearly, I'm not Robin anymore." He said, and everything was silent. He swallowed before taking his mask and cape off, throwing them at Batman, but both of them landing in the sewer water. "I'm done. I quit."

"You're sixteen, Dick, where are you going to go?!"

"That's not your problem anymore!"

Batman and Robin, well, not Robin anymore, both left without saying a word to Artemis or Zatanna. Since then, Wally and Kaldur said that they met with him once and he explained he was leaving the team to figure out who he was outside of Batman, and he didn't know how long he'd be gone.

"I can't believe he just blew up like that, it was unbelievable. I've never seen him that angry." Said Zatanna. She and Artemis were still both in disbelief. M'Gann walked in and she asked "What are you guys talking about?"

"Robin." They answered in unison.

She tilted her head. "There's something different about the two of you."

Both of their eyes widened and they shared a quick look.

"Wait, wait, don't tell me. I'm trying to be a psychic without using my telepathy." She closed her eyes and placed two fingers on her head. Both of them had skeptical and nervous looks on their faces.

"You're both happier than normal… oh my god you two are finally dating!" she exclaimed.

Both of them stared at her with their jaws wide open.

"Are you sure you didn't use your telepathy?" asked Artemis.

"Not really, it's kind of hard for me to tell the difference."

Artemis groaned.

"Okay but what do you mean, 'finally'?" asked Artemis.

"Oh, well I always kinda figured you two had a thing for each other. I never mentioned it to anybody because I didn't want to spread rumors, but am I really right?! Are you two together?!"

"Okay, shush M'Gann, but yes. We are." Artemis said.

"Awww! You two are so cute together!"

"Don't tell anybody. We're serious, we don't want anybody to know about this yet." Said Zatanna.

"The only people that know are Wally and my mom. And Cheshire, and you." She mumbled the 'and Cheshire' part so it was almost unhearable.

"I'm sorry, did you say Cheshire?" asked Zatanna.

Artemis gulped.

"When were you planning to tell me that?"

"Well to be honest I kind of forgot until just now."

"You're unbelievable."

"Aww you're already bickering like an old married couple."

"Oh shut up, M'Gann." Said Artemis, getting up and walking away.

As she was walking away, her phone rang and it was a blocked number. This day was about to get a lot more interesting. She answered.

"Who the hell is this and how did you get my number?"

"Hey little girl." If she couldn't tell by the voice she could tell by the way he said girl.

"What do you want, dad?"

"Oh you know, peace on Earth, a seat at the Light's round table, to be more involved in my daughter's life, the usual."

"You are so full of shit."

"You need to mind your manners. Meet me in the courtyard by Wayne Tower in an hour." And with that, he hung up.

"Shit." She muttered to herself. She looked back to see Zatanna and M'Gann deep in conversation, so she went to the zeta tube. **Recognized. Artemis. B07.** And with that, she was gone.

Within an hour she was sitting on a bench by Wayne Tower. Her father sat on the bench behind it to her left.

"Hello little girl."

"You really need to stop calling me that."

"Well maybe if you stopped acting like one."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"As if you don't know. You're being a brat acting out for attention. Why else would you be dating a girl?"

"How did you know about that?"

"Please, you're my daughter, I've been keeping tabs on you for years."

"That doesn't change anything. I'm not acting out for attention, I love Zatanna."

"Well I'm not going to allow that in my family."

"Maybe I would care about your opinion if you _were_ my family." She said getting up, but he grabbed her wrist and forced her back onto the bench.

"People are staring, you sure you wanna risk doing this in public?"

He looked around and reluctantly let go of her. "This isn't over." He got up and left. Artemis let out a deep sigh.

Back at the Cave, the zeta tubes were activated again.

"Oh, I hope that's Artemis. I can't believe she just left without telling me, where could she be?"

**Recognized. Doctor Fate. 17.**


	12. Family Reunion

"Fate?" asked Zatanna as she turned to look at the zeta tube. There was Doctor Fate. Just standing there. Staring at them. Both of them cautiously stepped forward before M'Gann yelled "That's not Doctor Fate!"

And with that, he attacked them. He threw two yellow energy balls at them, one hitting M'Gann and the other barely missing Zatanna.

"Then who the hell is it?" she asked, but M'Gann was unconscious. She looked at Fate, and he spoke. She could hear Nabu, but she couldn't hear her father's voice. She heard one much more demonic, which she barely recognized.

"I am Trigon. Your father's meat sack has proved to be quite… formidable. But it became less of a problem when I eliminated his consciousness."

"You're lying!" shouted Zatanna as she twirled her hand, sending one of the chairs flying at him, but he held up his hand and it shattered.

"esaeleR etaF morF nogirT!" she shouted, and Fate crumpled to his knees, grabbing his helmet, but Trigon was clearly fighting it. He looked up and his eyes returned to normal. She could hear her father's voice screaming, so she repeated the spell. She saw him reaching to rip the helmet off, so she eagerly ran over to help him pull it off. Although her efforts did nothing to help, Zatara was able to rip off the helmet and red energy went flowing outside of it as soon as it was released from him. The energy immediately formed into Trigon's physical body, triggering Zatanna's memories from the Tower of Fate, causing her to scream.

"Don't scream, Zatanna. I wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you."

She was paralyzed with fear, but Zatara got up and stood in front of her. "You will leave my daughter alone, monster!" he pulled a small pouch out of his pocket and shouted "part nogirT nI sihT hcuoP!" forcing Trigon back into red energy, which went flowing back into the pouch. "ecrofnieR!" Fate's eyes glowed, as did the string around the pouch. Zatara then placed the pouch back in his pocket and said "Trigon is always trying to escape Azarath, this may be the closest he's ever come, but-" he was interrupted by Zatanna attacked him with a hug. He could feel his shirt wet with her tears.

"I thought I was never going to see you again, daddy."

He gently stroked the back of her head as he hugged her back.

**Recognized. Artemis. B07.**

"Artemis!" shouted Zatanna as her girlfriend materialized. "How could you just leave like that?! I didn't know if you were mad at me or dead or-" she stopped when she saw the shocked look on her face.

"Zatara?" she asked. He nodded his head. "How?"

"Long story." Said Zatanna.

"Yes, indeed, but I am afraid I am still bound by Fate. I must return myself to him." He said, holding out his hands as the helmet flew back into them.

"Wait! Before you go one last time I… I wanted to tell you something." Said Zatanna.

"Of course, Zatanna."

"Artemis and I are dating." She said quickly and without fear.

He simply smiled and said "You make a lovely couple."

"I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, Zatanna." And with that, he put the helmet on again, teleporting away. Zatanna then buried her head in Artemis's chest crying half-happy tears, half-heartbroken tears.


	13. The Absolute Worst Day of Artemis's Life

It had been a month since Trigon attacked Zatanna. Pretty much the entire team knew about Artemis and Zatanna, except for Robin. No one had been able to get ahold of him in a long time. Everyone suspected Batman knew where he was, and he just wasn't sharing.

"Hey did you guys hear that Bruce Wayne is having a banquet honoring the Justice League this Saturday?" asked Wally from across the room while making an army of sandwiches. "My Uncle Barry told me we're all invited."

"Pass." Said Superboy and Artemis at the same time. They both looked at each other and chuckled.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!" pleaded Zatanna.

"Connor, you're going." Said M'Gann sternly, yet playfully, making him laugh and give in.

"Are we invited as our alter egos, or simply as guests?" asked Kaldur.

"Probably just as guests. I mean, let's be honest, no one wants to go to a party to honor a bunch of teenagers." Reasoned Wally.

"Fair enough." Said Artemis.

"I don't know where the others are and I don't really care enough to find them, so just let them know if you see them." Said Wally before digging into his sandwiches.

"Gross." Said Zatanna.

"It's not black tie is it?" asked Superboy completely seriously, causing everyone else to laugh.

Later that day Artemis was riding her motorcycle through the streets of Gotham and as she was passing the docks she saw someone who looked all too familiar, so she took a detour and walked towards them.

"Robin?" she asked cautiously. He turned around and faced her; this was the first time he'd ever seen her without his mask on. He gave her a small smile and turned back to face the water.

"You don't have to call me that anymore." He said as she walked up to him.

"What do I call you?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Oh come on, you still can't tell me your real name?"

"You'd just laugh at it." He said, somewhat jokingly.

"No I won't, I promise."

"Okay, fine. It's Dick Grayson."

She let out a small chuckle and he glared at her. "Sorry." They stood in comfortable silence for a few more seconds. "Where have you been?"

"You know… all over the place."

"Have you talked to Batman?"

"No." a few seconds later he asked "What do you think about 'Nightwing'?"

"I like it."

"Cool."

"There's a banquet honoring the League on Saturday if you're interested. The team would love to see you."

"Yeah I heard about it. I might stop by, we'll see."

"Okay."

"I should probably go."

"Oh, one last thing."

"If you're gonna tell me about you and Zatanna, I've known for a long time." He patted her on the back and turned to get on his motorcycle and left without another word. Artemis just chuckled before heading home to her apartment to find her mother unconscious on the floor. She ran over to her and checked for a pulse, and after feeling nothing immediately dialed 911, and then called Zatanna.

Artemis was waiting in the hospital when Zatanna, Conner, M'Gann, and Kaldur burst in and all hugged her. After everyone separated, Zatanna grabbed her arm and touched her face. "What happened? I got your call and we all came as soon as possible."

Tears streamed down her face and she looked at the concerned faces of her teammates and friends. "The doctors are saying she had a heart attack. And I don't know if she's gonna make it." Her voice cracked at the end and Zatanna pulled her into another hug.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, a doctor walked out and addressed Artemis.

"Are you Paula Crock's daughter?"

"Yes."

"Maybe it would be best if I spoke with you in private."

Artemis's entire world froze as she already knew what he was going to say. She could feel the eyes of her friends on her, and she took a step back, almost tripping.

"No…" she said, shaking her head.

"I'm very sorry." Said the doctor as Artemis broke down in Zatanna's arms and was soon surrounded in another hug from all of her friends.


	14. Moving In

Within a few hours Artemis was approached by Jade, who sat next to her. "I'm gonna take care of everything, the estate, the funeral, it's all going to be okay. I promise." Artemis didn't say anything and instead just put her head on Jade's shoulder and allowed her to wrap her arm around her. "It's gonna be okay."

"Where's dad?"

"I called and told him. He just hung up on me after I told him."

"Typical. Of course he's gonna miss mom's funeral, why would I ever expect him to actually be a decent human being for once?" complained Artemis, getting off the bench and pacing around.

"Artemis, go home and get some sleep."

"I don't have a home anymore. I am _not_ going to go live with dad, or you for that matter, no offense, but I am an orphan. Oh my god I'm an orphan." She said, as if the words finally meant something to her.

In the other room, Zatanna, Conner, Kaldur, and M'Gann were still sitting around, trying to be supportive of Artemis.

"So what's gonna happen to her?" asked Conner.

"What do you mean?" asked M'Gann.

"Like, is she gonna come live in the Cave with all of us now, or what?"

"That is up to her. She still has a living father and sister, but it is likely she will not want to live with either one of them. So unless she has someone else, the Cave might be her only option." Responded Kaldur.

"I know the circumstances are horrible, but if she does come live with us, that would be really fun, wouldn't it?" said M'Gann, trying her best to make light of the situation. Zatanna just sat in her chair, rubbing her arm and staring off into space. A few seconds later, Cheshire burst through the door and yelled at Zatanna, telling her to get in there. She ran inside to find Artemis on the bench, grasping the arm rest with all of her strength breathing heavily and tears streaming down her eyes.

"Oh god." Said Zatanna, before rushing over and sitting next to Artemis. She grabbed onto her and said "Artemis look at me, look at me." With some hesitance, she did as she was told. "Look at me and focus on my voice, okay? Okay?" Artemis nodded and gulped nervously. "Take a deep breath." After a few seconds, she did that. "Again." Again. "One more time. Good. I want you to say out loud that it's going to be okay." Artemis looked at her with a mixture of confusion and reluctance, but Zatanna insisted. "It's… it's going to be okay." Her voice was shaky, and she was still crying, but had her composure back. "It's going to be okay." Repeated Zatanna, pulling Artemis into a hug and stroking the back of her head to comfort her. After a few minutes they separated and Artemis had stopped crying.

"Where am I gonna go now?" she asked.

"You can come live with us in the Cave." Zatanna suggested.

"Oh god does that mean I have to transfer to Happy Harbor?" she joked, making Zatanna laugh a little bit.

"Happy Harbor's not that bad. And the Cave would be fun. Conner and M'Gann live there, all the Atlanteans are temporary live-ins, and we'd have it to ourselves all the time. Just you… and me…" she said, which got Artemis to smile.

"Okay. Maybe it won't be so bad." She accepted and once more buried herself in a hug with Zatanna.

Cheshire did as she said and handled everything. The funeral was set for Tuesday, and not a lot of people would be attending. Just Jade and Artemis, everyone from the team, and a few of Paula's old friends who she still had contact with. The next day everyone was helping Artemis move of all of her stuff into the Cave, which didn't take very long since she hardly had anything at the apartment that she didn't already have in her temporary room at the Cave. After everything was unpacked, Artemis sat down on her new bed and let out a large breath. Zatanna stood in the doorway, admiring the new room.

"Wow, this new bed is kind of uncomfortable, maybe you should come help me break it in." said Artemis, patting the space right next to her. Zatanna just shook her head and laughed as she walked over and joined Artemis as her little spoon.

"If I've got you here every day, then maybe this won't be so bad."


	15. Homecoming

Artemis and Zatanna were already late to the banquet, and their taxi driver was behind schedule. When he finally arrived and they got inside, they only made it about three blocks before he walked out in front of the taxi, causing it to swerve and crash into a lamppost.

"teG llA fO sU tuO fo ehT raC!" shouted Zatanna right before impact and all three of them appeared just behind the burning car, and the driver was already unconscious. Then the man stepped out from the wreckage and looked at the two of them.

"Dad?!" screamed Artemis.

"Hello, little girl." He said before shooting her with a tranq dart.

"Artemis!" screamed Zatanna, grabbing her and shaking her.

"Stay out of this, dyke. You're not a part of my plan." He said, shooting her as well, but taking Artemis and leaving Zatanna on the street. When she came to, there were ambulances everywhere, and she could see police blocking off Wally, Conner, Megan, Kaldur, and Donna. They were all very dressed up, and she assumed they all left the banquet to come see if she and Artemis were okay. They weren't. After she'd gotten proper medical attention, she cast a spell that made them all not pay attention as she walked away from the scene and to her friends.

"Zee, are you okay?!" asked Wally as she came over to them.

"I'm fine but Sportsmaster… he took Artemis."

"We have to get back to the Cave. Now." instructed Kaldur. As soon as they got back Kaldur pulled up a 3-Dimensional map of the world.

"Zatanna. Do you remember when the worlds were separated and you cast a spell to find Klarion's location?" he asked. Nervously, she nodded. "I want you to do the same thing for Artemis."

"O- okay…" she said, and just as she was about to try, Batman's face appeared on a screen in front of them. "Team, this is very last minute and I apologize for that, but it is absolutely dire. I've just gotten word from Aquaman that Ocean Master is leading a squadron of rogue Atlantean soldiers to the surface world _through_ Happy Harbor. You are our first line of defense and I trust you will not fail. Batman out."

"Well, shit." Said Kid Flash. "What do we do?"

**Recognized. Nightwing. B01.**

"Kaldur, take M'Gann, Donna, Conner, and Wally and hold off the Atlantean army. Zatanna and I will find Artemis." He instructed, and for a second everyone just stared at him.

"Robin?" asked Kaldur.

"It's Nightwing now, but uh, yeah. I'm back, we can catch up later but right now you need to go."

"Right." Said Kaldur, and his team ran to the normal exit to get to the shore.

"Nightwing, huh?" asked Zatanna.

"You like it?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Alright, Kaldur had the right idea, our first step is gonna be you casting that location spell. I believe you can do it." He assured her. She took a deep breath and turned towards the model of Earth.

"wohS eM s'simetrA noitacoL!" she screamed as energy burst from her fingertips and collided with it, spinning the model around rapidly until it stopped at a point in Gotham City, zooming in to reveal the location.

"Artemis's old apartment?" said Zatanna in disbelief.

"Why would Sportsmaster take her there?" asked Nightwing.

"Let's go find out."


	16. I Love You

"Wake up, little girl."

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and her hazy vision came into focus. She blinked once more and looked up, feeling her arms and legs confined to the chair she was sitting in.

"What the hell did you do?" she demanded, but there was no use in trying to hide the fear in her voice. He was sitting directly across from her, looking her dead in the eyes. His mask was off, held loosely in his hands. He sighed and got up, walking over to look out the open window. In anger, he chucked it out the window and slammed it shut, cracking the glass.

"Paula's dead." He said plainly, walking over to the coffee table, which had an array of torture weapons laid out on it.

"I know. I was there." She responded. He chuckled.

"I can't believe even after your mother's death you still mock us."

"What are you talking about?"

He got up and slapped her in the face. "You know damn well what I'm talking about! You know _who_ I'm talking about!"

Artemis spat out some blood and looked back at him in disgust. "This is because of Zatanna?!"

"Partly." He picked up a pair of scissors and examined them. "I know it didn't seem like it, but I did love your mother. I loved Jade, and I loved you."

"You're using past tense."

"I know. Your mother's dead, there's no point in loving her anymore. And you… well you've been a thorn in my and the Light's side for far too long little girl. I need to cleanse myself of any distractions I have left, like I did with Paula."

"Like you did with… oh my god… you killed mom." She said, pure shock and disgust in her voice.

"Yes and no. I came here with the intent to kill her, but the shock of me _almost_ attacking her is what gave her the heart attack. So technically I didn't kill her and you can't blame me." He explained, taking his seat across from her.

"Like hell I can't! You killed my mother you asshole!" she screamed, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Thank you, for making this easier on me." He said as he stood up and walked towards her. With no warning, he jammed the scissors into her leg, and she let out a blood curdling scream, making Sportsmaster flinch.

"I thought you said you were going to kill me."

"Doesn't mean I can't have a little fun with you first."

"You're sadistic. And insane." He stuck his fingers into the scissors and slowly began to open them, tearing the flesh in her leg even more.

"AH!" she screamed, clenching every muscle in her body, crying even more. He snipped the scissors shut and ripped them out of her leg. He tossed them backwards, not paying attention to where they went.

"Now, what next?" he said as he pulled out a small knife that he fit between his fingers.

"Dad… please…" she begged, but he shut her voice out and stabbed her in the shoulder, ignoring her scream as he sliced upwards. He then ripped it out and kneeled closer to her. "I'm getting really tired of your screaming." He then placed the knife up to her throat and slowly began slicing, as blood dripped from her neck.

"kaerB ehT rooD nwoD!" and the door to the apartment came crashing it, flying into Sportsmaster, knocking him over into the kitchen.

"Zatanna!" screamed Artemis, her voice trembling. Zatanna ran over to Artemis and kissed her forehead, grabbing her and examining her wounds. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, just please get me out of here…" she pleaded, and Zatanna cast a spell to release her bindings. As Zatanna helped her up, Artemis noticed Nightwing in a fighting stance, holding back Sportsmaster.

"Nightwing?" asked Artemis.

"In the flesh. Get out of here!"

She did as she was told as Zatanna carried her outside and Nightwing launched himself at Sportsmaster.

"Thank you for coming for me." Said Artemis as soon as they got out of the building. Zatanna turned to face her and said "I will _always_ come for you. Okay? Artemis, I… I love you."

"I love you too." Said Artemis, pulling Zatanna into an incredibly passionate kiss. It would have lasted longer, but as soon as Zatanna placed her hands on Artemis's face, she fell over because of her leg. "Oh, shit! Sorry!"

Artemis couldn't help but laugh as she regained her balance. "Just get me back to the Cave."

"What about Nightwing?"

"He can handle himself."

Just as she said this, Sportsmaster came crashing out of a window far above them, and a hand reached out and grabbed his ankle, causing him to slam into the wall.

"Can you sit down for a second? I've gotta handle this." she said, gently setting Artemis down. Zatanna walked over as Nightwing dropped Sportsmaster. "wolS s'retsamstropS llaF!" she said, causing a gust of wind to blast from her hands, slowing Sportsmaster's fall until she ceased the spell, causing him to hit the ground with a thud. He rolled over onto his back and tried to crawl towards Artemis, but Zatanna kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

"That was amazing." Said Artemis, resulting in a shrug from Zatanna.

"I'll be right down!" shouted Nightwing before hopping out of the window and sliding down the wall. "We should get back to Happy Harbor, I doubt the others have stopped the invasion yet."

"Invasion?" asked Artemis.

"Long story. Let's get moving." Said Nightwing as he ran over and helped Zatanna carry her to the nearest Zeta-tube. Once they got to the Cave they found their teammates bandaging themselves up in the main room.

"Artemis! Are you okay?" asked M'Gann as soon as she saw her.

"I'll be fine. You guys look pretty beat up, what happened?" she responded as Zatanna sat Artemis on the couch and ran to grab some more bandages.

"We were fighting off an army of rogue Atlanteans, led by King Orin's brother, Ocean Master, and we held them off for as long as we could, but soon we learned that he was leading a charge _against_ the Light. It seemed he had been planning to betray them, and wreak as much havoc in the process as possible. But soon reinforcements showed up, and Ocean Master was taken into custody." Explained Aqualad.

"Sounds intense."

"What about you? Are you okay?" asked Wally.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nightwing took out my dad, the police picked him up after we left."

_Tuesday._

After the funeral was over, everyone shuffled out except for Artemis and Zatanna. Zatanna walked up to Artemis and grabbed her hand as they both looked at her grave.

"I'm gonna miss you, mom." She said, as Zatanna stroked her hand with her thumb. "I'm gonna miss you."

She took one last look at her mother's grave before turning and walking away with the love of her life.


End file.
